Posted On: July 23, 2007, 11:49 am CDT

Posted By: NTXCoog

The risk of a driver is not just in how he drives, but in his ability not to file claims. You are correct that a person with good credit might be a bad driver. That doesn't mean that the person will file claims.

Not even considering the physical damage portion on the insured's own car, let's look at liability. If a driver has a minor fender bender requiring less than $1000 to fix, if that person chooses to pay out of pocket instead of filing the claim, they are "owning up to their responsibility." In fact they may be owning up more than the person who would rather file it on their insurance. That's $1000 straight out of the insured's pocket instead of pawning it off on an insurance company because they're big and can afford a $1000 payment.

If this person gets into several minor $1000 or less fender benders, does that make them a bad driver? Yes. Does that make them a bad risk if they pay for all of them? Maybe. They may be a bad risk for the big payout because eventually that minor fender bender may become a big liability claim. But for small claims, they're a great risk because the insurance company doesn't have to pay out.

Ideally that person would be charged a higher amount for all of the accidents that reflect their poor driving record, but not as high as someone who files all of the claims which would be discounted based on credit.